City Cambridge v. Town West Springfield

RONAN, Justice. The first case is an action of contract, in accordance with G.L.(Ter.Ed.) c. 117, § 18, to recover for money, food and fuel furnished to one Sweeney and his wife, who became in need of assistance and relief while they were living in the plaintiff city. Liability is based upon the ground that Sweeney had a legal settlement in the defendant town. The petition in the second case seeks to recover from the Commonwealth for the same items for the reason, as alleged, that Sweeney had no settlement within the Commonwealth. The cases were submitted to the Superior Court upon an agreed statement of facts, submitted as evidence and not upon a case stated. This contained considerable documentary evidence. The parties concede that the amount claimed was fair and reasonable and that the city of Cambridge had complied with all the pertinent statutory provisions. The only issue presented for the determination of the Judge was whether Sweeney at the time he enlisted in the military service of the United States was actually residing in the defendant town and so, by virtue of G.L.(Ter.Ed.) c. 116, § 1, Fifth, he had acquired a legal settlement in West Springfield, or whether at that time he had a settlement outside the Commonwealth. The Judge found that he had no settlement within the Commonwealth, and accordingly found for the defendant in the first case and for the petitioner in the second case. The cases are here upon the plaintiff's appeal in the first case, and upon the appeal and exceptions of the Commonwealth in the second case. It appeared from the agreed statement of facts with the accompanying documents that Sweeney was born in Keene, New Hampshire; that he was assessed a poll tax there in 1914, 1915, 1916 and 1917; that he paid the first two years but the records of the collector showed he was absent during the last two years; that he was a member of the New Hampshire National Guard from 1914 to June, 1917, when he was discharged by reason of his enlistment in the military service of the United States; that in 1917 his mother resided in Keene, New Hampshire; that the records of the War Department showed that he enlisted at Boston in the army of the United States on June 28, 1917, giving his residence as 76 Island Street, Keene, New Hampshire, and served overseas until he was honorably discharged on May 2, 1919; that he was assessed poll taxes in West Springfield for the years 1916 and 1917 which were paid; that on May 20, 1919, he filed an application with the Treasurer and Receiver General of the Commonwealth for the benefits provided for World War veterans by St.1917, c. 211, and, on November 17, 1919, made application for the payment provided by St.1919, c. 283; that in both applications he stated that his residence at the time of his enlistment was 91 Church Street, West Springfield, where he had been assessed a poll tax for 1917, and in the earlier application he stated that he had resided in West Springfield for five years. Sweeney was unmarried and was employed as a brakeman by the Boston and Albany Railroad, and the address at 91 Church Street, West Springfield, given by him was the Y.M.C.A. which maintained a building in which it conducted a restaurant and a barber shop. This building also contained forty rooms, occupied principally by railroad employees who stopped over on their train runs between Boston and Albany.